Bulb-mounting assembly

ABSTRACT

A socket assembly for a bulb, consisting of two nonconductive parts fastened together, and several conductive members. One of the parts provides a base, while the other is upstanding from the base and defines a semicylindrical recess opening away from the base. A single-piece conductive ground strap stamped from sheet metal is provided to form a semicylinder to define with the recess a socket aperture. The ground strap also has a shield portion which shields from the bulb a space through which a wire can pass to be connected with a terminal at a location between the nonconductive parts.

United States Patent 1/1933 Ebeling 3,156,416 11/1964 Griffin 3,488,626 l/l970 Koerperetal.

ABSTRACT: A socket assembly for a bulb, consisting of two nonconductive parts fastened together, and several conductive members. One of the parts provides a base, while the other is upstanding from the base and defines a semicylindrical recess opening away from the base. A single-piece conductive ground strap stamped from sheet metal is provided to form a semicylinder to define with the recess a socket aperture. The ground strap also has a shield portion which shields from the bulb a space through which a wire can pass to be connected with a terminal at a location between the nonconductive parts.

Patented April 1971 3,573,705

I N VEN TOR.

m 3 HUGO QNM-M) MAM WWW?! BULB-MOUNTING ASSEMBLY This invention relates generally to mounting assemblies for bulbs of the kind generally used in the direction signal, stop and tail lights, etc. of vehicles.

It is an object of this invention to provide a mounting assembly for bulbs, in which the number of separate parts required for the total assembly is reduced to a minimum.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a mounting assembly, in which the electrically conductive portionproviding a terminal adapted to be electrically connected with the peripheral or "ground" contact of a bulb is such that it can be stamped from a single piece of sheet metal and is adapted, not only to contact the bulb, but in addition to both shield the bulb filament-energizing wires from the heat of the bulb and provide a ground-strap contact through which a simple threaded member can complete the connection to the grounded body of the vehicle.

Accordingly, this invention provides a socket assembly for a bulb, the assembly comprising: a first nonconductive member; a second nonconductive member adapted to define one part of a socket aperture, the first and second nonconductive members having means by which they can be secured tightly together; a conductive ground-strap having a first portion defining the other part of said socket aperture and adapted to cooperate with said second nonconductive member to define such socket aperture, the conductive ground-strap having a second portion extending away from the second nonconductive member in spaced relation with the first nonconductive member in spaced relation with the first nonconductive member to terminate at a third portion adapted to be grounded through the first nonconductive member to a suitable ground; at least one conductive terminal having a portion adapted to be locked between the first and the second nonconductive member when they are secured tightly together, the conductive terminal further having a portion adapted to be electrically connected with a contact for the bulb filament; the conductive ground-strap thus providing a shielded space between itself and the first nonconductive member into which can project a wire which is connected to the conductive terminal at a location between the first and second nonconductive members.

One embodiment of this invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals denote like parts throughout the several views, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a partly exploded perspective view of a socket assembly constructed in accordance with this invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of one element of the assembly of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of the element shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken at the line 4-4 in FIG. 2; I

FIG. 5 is a partlyexploded view of two of the elements of the assembly shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of one of the elements shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a partly broken-away perspective view of the entire assembly, less the bulb, in its assembled condition;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken at the line 8-8 in FIG.

5; and

FIG. 9 is a perspective view, from underneath, of one component of the assembly.

Turning first to FIG. 1, an assembly shown generally at 10 consists of a nonconductive baseplate 12, a nonconductive member 14, a conductive ground-strap 15, and two conductive terminals 17 and 18. The baseplate 12 by itself is shown in perspective in FIG. 5, and in cross section in FIG. 8. Integral with the baseplate 12 are two upstanding arms 20 and 21, each being slightly tapered both in width and thickness. Preferably, the inner wall 23 of each arm 20 and 21 is perpendicular to the surface of the baseplate 12. Each arm 20 and 21 has a central, lower aperture 24, and directly above each aperture 24 is a wedge-shaped channel 26 which extends to the upper edge 28 of each arm 20 and 21. Between the arms 20 and 21 is a recess 30, which can be seen in FIGS. 5 and 8.

Also shown in FIG. 5 is the complete terminal 18, which can be seen to comprise a portion 42 having an aperture 44, an upstanding arm 45 linked to the portion 42 by a curved elbow 46, and a hairpin portion 47 which has a wedge-shaped slot 48 in which the bared end of a wire can be lodged. The terminal 18 is constructed of an electrically conductive material, preferably a metal, which gives the terminal 18 a certain amount of resilience. Theother terminal 17 is a duplicate of the terminal 18, except that it is reversed.

Attention is now directed to FIG. 1, in which the nonconductive member 14 is shown in position between the arms 20 and 21. The member 14 has a substantially flat base 53 provided underneath with upward recesses (shown in FIG. 9) adapted to receive the hairpin portions 47 of the terminals 17 and 18, along with the wires 52 at the point where they lodge in the slots 48. The member 14 has an upstanding portion 54 which has a sloping top wall 56 with respect to its own base 53. Cut centrally from the portion 54 is a semicylindrical depression 58 which is adapted to define one part, approximately one-half, of a cylindrical socket aperture for receiving a twofilament light bulb. The depression 58 divides the top wall 56 into two portions, each of which has an upstanding cylindrical pillar 60. The sidewalls 61 of the member 14 are each provided with an outwardly protruding lug 62 (only one visible in FIGS. 1 and 5) which is adapted to be snapped into place within the apertures 24 in the respective upstanding arms 20 and 21. The wedge-shaped channels 26 are adapted to lead the protruding lugs 62 rectilinearly toward the apertures 24.

In FIG. 9, it can be seen that the member 14 is molded as an essentially hollow integral piece, with various reinforcing partitions, the arrangement of which forms no part of this invention. The member 14 does include, however, two downwardly protruding lugs 63 which are adapted to register in the apertures 44 of the terminals 17 and 18, and thus retain the latter in the position shown in FIG. 1.

The remaining part of the assembly shown in FIG. 1 is the ground-strap l5, whichwill now be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4. One of the special features of the ground-strap 15 is that it is such as to be capable of being stamped in one operation from a single piece of sheet metal.

7 There are actually two phases to the stamping operation. The

first is to cut the four apertures 65, 66, 67 and 68, as well as the general outline of the ground-strap 15. The second opera tion is to utilize a conventional cold-forming process in which the contours shown in the FIGS. can be stamped into the ground-strap 15. The apertures 65, 66 and 67 are circular apertures and can be seen in plan view in FIG. 2. The aperture 68, as it is originally cut, is substantially semicircular in shape, although in the subsequent contour-forming operation the aperture 68 is expanded to full circular shape. As can be seen particularly in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, the ground-strap 15 has a first portion 70 in which the apertures 66 and 67 are stamped, a second portion 72 which is adapted to extend away from the member 14 in spaced relation with the baseplate 12, and a third portion 74 which contains the aperture 65 and which is adapted to rest against the upper surface of the baseplate 12in surface contact therewith. Between the first portion 70 and the second portion 72 is a firststep-portion 76 which contains the semicircular aperture 68 as originally stamped. The bendline 77 between the first portion 70 and the first step-portion 76 is aligned with the diameter of the semicircular aperture 68. The bend-line 78 between the first step-portion 76 and the second portion 72 is spaced slightly from the lowermost point of the edge 79 defining the semicircular aperture 68. The angle at the bend-line 77 between the first portion 70 and the first step-portion 76 is preferably a right angle. The angle at the bend-line 78 between the first step-portion 76 and the second portion 72 is an obtuse angle. These angles can be particularly seen in FIGS. 3 and 4. Between the second portion 72 and the third portion 74 is a second step-portion 80, which is relatively narrow and which is situated approximately at right angles to both the second portion 72 and the third portion 74. As can be seen in FIG. 7, the second portion 72 extends away from the member 14 in spaced relation with the baseplate 12,

thus providing a shielded space 82 between the second portion 72 and the baseplate 12 into which the wires 52 (FIG. 1) can project. Also within the space 82 are two wire holes 83, seen in FIG. 1, through which the wires 52 can pass out of the space 82. All of the bend-lines are formed at one time in the contour-forming stamp operation, during which also the central part 84 of the first portion 70 is upwardly arched.

Attention is now directed to FIGS. 1 and 7, from which it can be seen that a cylindrical socket aperture 85 is defined between the depression 58 in the member 14 and the upwardly arched part 84 of the first portion 70 of the groundstrap 15. In order to provide a conventional bayonet-type socket for a standard two-filament bulb of the kind used in vehicle accessory lights, the upwardly arched portion 86 has its leftward or outside edge 87 shaped to define the standard J-slot 88, while the upwardly arched portion 86 itself has an outwardly projecting channel 90 which is formed during the contour-forming operation. The depression 58 in the member 14 is also provided with a channel 92 which opens into a J-slot 93. When the different parts are in their assembled condition, as shown in FIG. 7, the .I-slots 88 and 93 are arranged to be at antipodal locations of the socket aperture 85 defined by the ground-strap 15 and the member 14. Likewise, the channels 90 and 92 are antipodally arranged. Thus, it is possible to insert the standard two-filament light bulb, conventionally provided with two bayonet projections at opposite sides of the socket portion of the light bulb, into the socket aperture 85 with the bayonet projections sliding along the channels 90 and 92. When the bulb has been inserted far enough that the bayonet projections have reached the points where the channels 90 and 92 are open to the J-slots 88 and 93, the light bulb is turned in the clockwise direction as seen from the direction of the aperture 65. In order to get the light bulb to the point where it may be rotated, the end of the light bulb bearing the two filament contacts will be pressing leftwardly resiliently against the terminals 17 and 18, and it is this resilience in the terminals 17 and 18 which pushes the light bulb back, once rotated, so that the bayonet projections lodge in the J-slots 88 and 93.

In assembling together the several parts of the assembly of this invention, it is necessary first to pass the wires 52 through the apertures 84 and then to lodge the bared ends of the wires 52 in the slots 48 of the respective terminals 17 and 18. Next the terminals 17 and 18 are placed in proper position against the member 14 with the lugs 63 passing through the square apertures 44. As seen in FIG. 9, the bottom of the member 14 is recessed to receive the portions 47 of the terminals 17 and 18 between two walls 96 and 97 which snugly enclose the portions 47. As the portions 47 are pressed upwardly between the walls 96 and 97, the bared ends of the wires 52 in the slots 48 are bent or crimped by the lower edges of the walls 96 and 97, due to the fact that the lower points of the slots 48 lie above the lower edges of the walls 96 and 97 when the terminals 17 and 18 are in their final inserted position. This crimping locks the wires 52 to the terminals 17 and 18. The end of the wire 52, including its crimped bared end, is shown in position connected to the terminal 18 in FIG. 5.

Next, the member 14 is snapped into place between the arms 20 and 21, in which position the protruding ends of the lugs 63 will be received in the recess in the baseplate 12. In its snapped-in position, the protuberances 62 will lodge in the apertures 24 of the arms 20 and 21. Following this, the ground-strap 15 is placed in position with the cylindrical pillars 60 passing through the apertures 66 and 67, and with the aperture 65 aligned with an aperture 95 in the baseplate 12. Next, the cylindrical pillars 60 are treated in such a way that the ground-strap 15 cannot be removed once in place. Preferably, the material of the member 14 is capable of being softened by the application of heat, and the necessary treatment of the cylindrical pillars 60 is merely one of softening the portion which projects above the apertures 66 and 67, and flattening the material out to a diameter larger than the apertures 66 and 67, much in the manner ofa rivet.

A suitable screw or other threaded device can then be used to secure the third portion 74 against the baseplate 12 while at the same time electrically grounding the ground plate 15 to the frame of the vehicle.

While one embodiment of this invention has been shown and described herein, those skilled in the art will appreciate that changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A socket assembly for a bulb, the assembly comprising:

a first nonconductive member having a supporting surface;

a second nonconductive member adapted to be secured against said supporting surface and having a substantially semicylindrical depression opening away from said supporting surface, thereby to define one-half of a cylindrical socket aperture;

a conductive ground-strap having a first portion, a step-portion and a second portion; the step-portion being integral with said first and second portions respectively at first and second substantially parallel bend-lines, said step-portion having a semicircular aperture of which the diametral edge coincides with said first bend-line and of which the curved edge substantially corresponds to the curvature of said semicylindrical depression; said first portion being substantially at right angles to said step-portion, the first portion having adjacent the semicircular aperture an upwardly arched central part which defines the other half of said cylindrical socket aperture when said first portion is secured against the second nonconductive member with the said curved edge of the semicircular aperture in registry with the semicylindrical depression of the second nonconductive member; said second portion extending away from the second nonconductive member in spaced relation with the first nonconductive member, thereby to provide a shieldedspace between itself and the first nonconductive member, the conductive ground-strap being adapted to be grounded the said first nonconductive member to a suitable ground;

at least one conductive terminal having a portion adapted to be locked between the first and the second nonconductive member when they are secured tightly together, the conductive terminal further having a portion adapted to be electrically connected with a contact for the bulb filament, said shielded space being adapted to receive a wire connected to the conductive terminal at a location between the first and second nonconductive members; and

means for securing the conductive ground-strap against the nonconductive members.

2. A socket assembly as claimed in claim 1, in which the first nonconductive member is provided with aperture means through which a wire can exit from the said shielded space.

3. A socket assembly as claimed in claim 1, in which the end of the socket aperture remote from the step-portion of the conductive ground-strap is provided with bayonet locking means for a bayonet-type bulb, and in which the conductive terminal is sufficiently resilient that the portion of the conductive terminal adapted to be electrically connected with the bulb filament contact is capable of urging the inserted bulb in the direction opposite to the insertion direction, thereby locking the inserted bulb into the bayonet locking means.

4. A socket assembly as claimed in claim 1, in which there are two conductive terminals, each having a portion adapted to be electrically connected with one of the bulb filament contacts on a two-filament bulb.

5. A socket assembly as claimed in claim 1, in which said upwardly arched central part is sandwiched between two end parts of the first portion, each end part having an aperture, said second nonconductive member having two upstanding pillars adapted to register through the apertures, the pillars being capable of deformation to prevent their withdrawal from the aperture.

6. A socket assembly as claimed in claim 5, in which the pillars are made of a heat-deformable substance. 

1. A socket assembly for a bulb, the assembly comprising: a first nonconductive member having a supporting surface; a second nonconductive member adapted to be secured against said supporting surface and having a substantially semicylindrical depression opening away from said supporting surface, thereby to define one-half of a cylindrical socket aperture; a conductive ground-strap having a first portion, a step-portion and a second portion; the step-portion being integral with said first and second portions respectively at first and second substantially parallel bend-lines, said step-portion having a semicircular aperture of which the diametral edge coincides with said first bend-line and of which the curved edge substantially corresponds to the curvature of said semicylindrical depression; said first portion being substantially at right angles to said step-portion, the first portion having adjacent the semicircular aperture an upwardly arched central part which defines the other half of said cylindrical socket aperture when said first portion is secured against the second nonconductive member with the said curved edge of the semicircular aperture in registry with the semicylindrical depression of the second nonconductive member; said second portion extending away from the second nonconductive member in spaced relation with the first nonconductive member, thereby to provide a shielded space between itself and the first noncOnductive member, the conductive ground-strap being adapted to be grounded the said first nonconductive member to a suitable ground; at least one conductive terminal having a portion adapted to be locked between the first and the second nonconductive member when they are secured tightly together, the conductive terminal further having a portion adapted to be electrically connected with a contact for the bulb filament, said shielded space being adapted to receive a wire connected to the conductive terminal at a location between the first and second nonconductive members; and means for securing the conductive ground-strap against the nonconductive members.
 2. A socket assembly as claimed in claim 1, in which the first nonconductive member is provided with aperture means through which a wire can exit from the said shielded space.
 3. A socket assembly as claimed in claim 1, in which the end of the socket aperture remote from the step-portion of the conductive ground-strap is provided with bayonet locking means for a bayonet-type bulb, and in which the conductive terminal is sufficiently resilient that the portion of the conductive terminal adapted to be electrically connected with the bulb filament contact is capable of urging the inserted bulb in the direction opposite to the insertion direction, thereby locking the inserted bulb into the bayonet locking means.
 4. A socket assembly as claimed in claim 1, in which there are two conductive terminals, each having a portion adapted to be electrically connected with one of the bulb filament contacts on a two-filament bulb.
 5. A socket assembly as claimed in claim 1, in which said upwardly arched central part is sandwiched between two end parts of the first portion, each end part having an aperture, said second nonconductive member having two upstanding pillars adapted to register through the apertures, the pillars being capable of deformation to prevent their withdrawal from the aperture.
 6. A socket assembly as claimed in claim 5, in which the pillars are made of a heat-deformable substance. 